Caveasphaera

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Caveasphaera
Temporal range: Ediacaran, 609 Ma
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Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Genus: †Caveasphaera

Caveasphaera is a multicellular organism found in 609-million-year-old rocks laid down during the Ediacaran period in the Guizhou Province of South China. The organism is not easily defined as an animal or non-animal.[1][2][3][4][5] The organism is notable due to the study of related embryonic fossils (measuring about a half-millimeter in diameter)[1] which display different stages of its development: from early single-cell stages to later multicellular stages.[1][2][3][4] Such fossil studies present the earliest evidence of an essential step in animal evolution - the ability to develop distinct tissue layers and organs.[1] According to researchers, fossil studies of Caveaspaera have suggested that animal-like embryonic development arose much earlier than the oldest clearly defined animal fossils.[1] and may be consistent with studies suggesting that animal evolution may have begun about 750 million years ago.[2][6] Nonetheless, Caveasphaera fossils may look similar to starfish and coral embryos.[1] Still, researchers have concluded, "Parental investment in the embryonic development of Caveasphaera and co-occurring and , as well as delayed onset of later development, may reflect an adaptation to the heterogeneous nature of the early Ediacaran nearshore marine environments in which early animals evolved."[4]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Chinese Academy of Sciences (27 November 2019). "Researchers say animal-like embryos preceded animal appearance". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Zimmer, Carl (27 November 2019). "Is This the First Fossil of an Embryo? - Mysterious 609-million-year-old balls of cells may be the oldest animal embryos — or something else entirely". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Animal Embryos Evolved Before Animals". Astrobiology Web. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Yin, Zongjun; et al. (16 December 2019). "The Early Ediacaran Caveasphaera Foreshadows the Evolutionary Origin of Animal-like Embryology". Current Biology. 29 (24): 4307–4314.e2. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.057. PMID 31786065. S2CID 208332041. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  5. ^ Staff (28 November 2019). "Animal-Like Embryos Evolved Long Before Complex Animals, Scientists Say". Sci-News.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  6. ^ Cunningham, John A.; et al. (5 December 2016). "The origin of animals: Can molecular clocks and the fossil record be reconciled?". BioEssays. 39 (1): e201600120. doi:10.1002/bies.201600120. PMID 27918074.

External links[]

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